


Who do you fight for?

by WickedCinnamonRoll



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Blood and Violence, Boxing, Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Character Study, Family Bonding, Fist Fights, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Homophobic Language, I don’t know anything about boxing so bare with me, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, No Incest, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-27
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-11-06 10:38:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17938226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WickedCinnamonRoll/pseuds/WickedCinnamonRoll
Summary: Diego sees a boxing match in his future. However, one of his siblings has other plans for himEDIT: Holy shit y'all really liked this one, huh? fdsfsdfdsd uwu thanks so much for the kudos and bookmarks. Would love to hear more back from y'all and what u liked bout it. Translation: comments are always welcomed





	Who do you fight for?

  It could be said that Diego Hargreeves’s new life isn't all that different to the one he once lived. However if you were to make that connection in front of the man himself, he wouldn’t take too kindly to the idea and depending on who you were, a knife most definitely would be involved in getting you to shut your mouth. ****  
** **

  Sure, he fought and trained just like the good ol’ days of being back in the academy, but there was significantly less abuse and neglect involved at the hands of his father. In fact, here, his father was nothing but a cold and distant memory of his former life. During some lucky days of his, thoughts of his father miraculously never crossed his mind as he was focused on much more pressing issues. Not to say that he could entirely forget about it as that was simply an impossible task. It’s how he and his siblings were taught and raised throughout what he would begrudgingly call a “childhood.” He envied those who looked back fondly on their own childhoods, telling stories of their favorite Christmas days or birthdays or trips to amusement parks or zoos, all of them mainly emphasizing what great parents they had. They never meant to rub it in, at least they  _ usually _ didn’t mean to, as they would often cut their stories short when they’d remember who they were telling them to in the first place.  ****  
** **

  Over the years, Diego had made it abundantly clear to those who knew him to keep talk of his past where it belonged: in the past. Often times when people would hear that his name was attached to the famous Umbrella Academy, they gushed about how they wanted to be just like him or his siblings when they were kids. They only saw what his father wanted them to see. The glitz and glam and celebrity-like status only ran skin deep but they had no idea and Diego didn’t expect them to understand it or even know about it. He kept things short and to the point when people would ask. ****  
** **

  “I’d rather not talk about it.” ****  
** **

  Of course, some people can’t take no for an answer and would poke and prod, looking for any kind of hint of what it was like to live the oh so adventurous and fabulous life of a kid in the Umbrella Academy. But he never gave in and always was able to change the subject or shut them down in the end, if a little aggressively. But then again, that’s Diego for you. The way he’d snap at people for asking was enough for them to give up and move on from it. He couldn’t blame people for being curious as they knew far from the whole story, but the least they could do was be the tiniest bit respectful of his wishes the first time around. He didn’t feel the need to explain himself any more than he had to. ****  
** **

  They wouldn’t understand.  ****  
** **

  Finishing that thought, he threw a series of impressive jabs at the large punching bag, watching the rhythmic swing of it and the sounds of the swinging chain, the thuds of each punch landing against it and the other people training like him filled his ears. He allowed himself a few quick breaths before delivering a couple extra sharp punches. ****  
** **

  He had been training yes but mainly letting off some steam from a recent encounter. An encounter he’s experienced many times involving someone unfortunately recognizing his name and cursed umbrella brand on his skin.  ****  
** **

_ It’s been God knows how long yet people still fuckin’ care? How? _ ****  
** **

  Another jab as he remembered how they explained themselves. ****  
** **

_ “Oh well I read your sister’s book and it just got me thinking about it again.” _ ****  
** **

  Another jab.  ****  
** **

_   “Is it true?” _ ****  
** **

  Another jab. ****  
** **

_   “Was your father-?” _ ****  
** **

  He grunted angrily as the final punch landed much harder compared to the others and the bag swung to and fro. His arms dropped to his side as he let out slow, heavy breaths. Lifting and picking at the tank top sticking to his sweaty torso, he grabbed the bottom of it to use to wipe his forehead and brow of any excess sweat forming. ****  
** **

  “Sweatin’ like a damn pig and fightin’ like one too.” ****  
** **

  Diego didn’t need to look up to know the voice belonged to Al, the grizzled old boxing coach who let him train and even live there in the first place. ****  
** **

  “And how does a pig fight exactly?” ****  
** **

  “Badly.” ****  
** **

  He let out a dry chuckle as he finally looked up at him. “Thanks. I’ll be sure to take that constructive criticism to heart.” ****  
** **

  Al let out a small string of incoherent mutters as he waved away the sarcastic remark. “Pullin’ your leg. Wouldn’t call you our best, but should be enough for tomorrow.” ****  
** **

  And what was tomorrow? Why, a boxing match of course. Being held at homebase for Diego. ****  
** **

  “The people sure like a show when your name is attached to it. Wonder why.” the way Al muttered his last statement showed that he was no fool in knowing why people would show up. “Certainly our golden boy if nothing else. You can really bring in a crowd and better yet, one with cash up the ass.” ****  
** **

  “Told you wouldn’t regret taking me in.” ****  
** **

  “That you did, that you did.” he looked as if he were about to leave but stopped short as if he just remembered something. “Heard the challenger is inviting his crew to watch, girlfriend too. What about you?” ****  
** **

  He was slightly caught off guard by this. “What do you mean?” ****  
** **

  “Just never see you bring anyone around.” he sighed and waved the question away. “Eh, just forget I asked.” and with that Al, wobbled away. ****  
** **

  He wasn’t wrong. For all the matches he fought in, the crowd cheering him on was always faceless to Diego. They held no identity or significance to him. They were just another audience in his life. They were mainly there just for entertainment and making a few quick bucks from betting which he didn’t really have any issues with. He couldn’t imagine anyone he knew coming to watch, much less with an invitation from him. Who would he even invite? Patch? What a joke. Diego scoffed at the mere idea of it. It seemed like lately she could barely stand to be around him, much less stick around for a fight. ****  
** **

  His brain turned on him when thoughts of his siblings began to cloud his head. ****  
** **

  Luther? Probably still being a good boy for daddy by being miles and miles above Earth and like Diego would even want to see him at all. ****  
** **

  Allison? Last he heard, she was busy with yet another big movie and yet again, not someone he’s in the mood to see. ****  
** **

  Vanya? Not even an option. ****  
** **

  A nagging voice at the back of his head was speaking another name, one that he couldn’t ignore forever. ****  
** **

  Klaus. ****  
** **

  He furrowed his brows as he grabbed his water bottle from a bench to finally free himself from thirst. Another heavy sigh bellowed out from his after he downed almost half the bottle. ****  
** **

  It wasn’t as ludicrous of a thought to imagine Klaus showing up compared to thoughts of his other siblings coming. Klaus was definitely the type to make outrageous bets and gambles on anything so what’s to stop him from betting on a fight for the opportunity to make fast cash? Plus, he was the only one he could see reasonably running into on the streets. It’s happened before, however brief the moments were. Klaus always seemed so genuinely happy to see Diego with each short lived encounter while Diego kept up a mostly indifferent exterior, as if on instinct. ****  
** **

  However, it wasn’t long until he shut down any thoughts concerning the matter. It was just a fight, a way to make money and get stronger, not some sort of family reunion in disguise. He didn’t have time to be thinkin about it anyways. When he thinks of them, his head feels cloudy and foggy, making it harder for him to think or focus and he had to be in his best shape for this fight. ****  
** **

  Afterall, they always do love a good show and what good is a show when one of the fighters is too busy thinking of their traumatic childhood and estranged relationships with siblings to fight back?   ****  
** **

 

  From the moment the next day started, Diego was getting ready. He even made sure to get up earlier than he usually did, using that time to get in some extra training. But of course, using most of the time to conserve his energy and before he knew it, people were beginning to pile into the building, all very chatty and waving dollar bills around like it was nothing. To say Al was pleased with the turnout would be an understatement. Even if Diego lost, the place would make decent enough money just with how many people showed up. It also must of had something to do with the challenger he would be facing, who hadn’t shown up yet. He hadn’t even met him yet but judging on that fact alone, he had a feeling of the type he would be facing. The type who’s cocky enough to show up just before the match to make himself seem more important than he actually was. He knew the type too well. Nonetheless, he continued to hover around the entrance to greet familiar faces and regulars and to accept their money before Al took over. After that, to went to the locker room to get ready. ****  
** **

  He sat silently on the bench looking at himself in the mirror wearing his shorts, boxer gloves by his hips. He never really was a fan of looking at himself like this. The large x shaped gash on his abdomen paired up with the numerous wild scars across his chest and up his shoulders, though were healed, weren’t the prettiest sight to look upon. All he could do was thank God or whatever was out there that he wasn’t able to see the ones on his back as easily. It certainly made him an intimidating challenger to behold, that’s for sure. But other than that? Diego couldn’t say many other good things about them. He couldn’t even fully recall which ones he got in fights got long after leaving the academy and which ones were more so apart of that funny little thing called a “childhood.” ****  
** **

_ Don’t get into it. It’s not worth it. You have a fight to win. You have- _ ****  
** **

  “So this is my opponent, huh?”  ****  
** **

  He looked over to see an unfamiliar man standing in the doorway of the locker room, though guessing by the comment he made tied with the shorts, the boxing robe draped around his shoulders and boxing gloves already snugly wrapped around his fists, this was indeed the man he was going to fight. ****  
** **

  Though he highly doubted he’s shake his hand with his own gloved hand, Diego stood up, walking over to him. ****  
** **

  “Yep, that’s me. I’m-” ****  
** **

  “Hargreeves. Diego Hargreeves, if I’m not mistaken?” he didn’t let Diego confirm that yes, it was him, as he continued. “I’ve heard a lot about you. Your family to be more specific.”  ****  
** **

_ Shit... _ ****  
** **

  “Is that right?” ****  
** **

  “Yep.” he said confidently. “Read a bit of that book your sister wrote.” ****  
** **

_ Of course. It’s always the fuckin’ book. _ ****  
** **

  However annoyed he was, he couldn’t help but smirk. This dude looked like a regular ol’ heavyweight, the reason the phrase “all brawn and no brains” existed. ****  
** **

  “Funny...wouldn’t take you for one who reads.” it was a low blow and maybe even too soon, but he never could truly control himself when family was mentioned. ****  
** **

  The man slowly grinned and chuckle, the kind of laugh where you were holding back so much anger, that’s all you could do in response. ****  
** **

  “Now, don’t take it too personally.” Diego’s sighed, not really regretting the comment. “Just some friendly smack talk before a fight.” ****  
** **

  “Oh I know. It just has me wondering...” he took a step closer to Diego. “Is it just that? Talk? Is your bark gonna be worse than your bite?” ****  
** **

  “Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.” ****  
** **

  “I guess so.”  ****  
** **

  Diego was far from feeling in the mood to dish out or take anymore meaningless trash talk, so he grabbed his gloves and left the locker room, giving him one final side-eye before leaving. ****  
** **

  He returned to the front room to see all the new people who had come in while he was away, some already standing by the ring while most were conversing amongst themselves, still continuing to be flashy with their money. Al looked away from the group of men he was chatting with to see Diego. He quickly exchanged goodbyes with the men before approaching him. ****  
** **

  “Guessing you met up with Chuck, your challenger. Should’ve told you he was on his way, just got caught up with some stupid fuckin’ bullshit.” he cocked an eyebrow at him. “Whaddya think?” ****  
** **

  Diego’s eyes stayed glued to the ring. “I can take him, don’t have a single doubt about it.” ****  
** **

  “I would say don’t get too cocky, but it’s neva’ stopped you before, eh?” he glanced around the room. “Brought in another full house. Got all the regulars plus some err...unexpected folks.” ****  
** **

  Diego blinked and finally looked down at old timer. “I’m sorry?” ****  
** **

  “Well y’know, the regular muscle head gym freaks always ready to throw down the big bucks, they’re here of course. But seems like this fight also caught the attention of one of those-” he muttered a bit as he tried to find the right words to use, making dainty hand gestures. “Fairy types.” ****  
** **

  Diego still couldn’t be more confused even if he tried. “I’m still not getting what you mean.” ****  
** **

  “Eh, you’ll know who I’m talking about if you see him. Anyways, I gotta go. Got business to take care of.” and before he could question Al anymore, he stayed true to his word and went back to the group of men, leaving Diego on his own with this cryptic message. ****  
** **

  He began to ponder more about what Al possibly could have meant. He thought through the sounds of loud talking and laughing and strangely enough, a particularly loud set of footsteps against the harsh concrete. The sharp clunking of them made them stand out from the otherwise softer sounds of sneakers shuffling around and even the harsher sounds of combat boots stomping around were overpowered by the single set of steps. They belonged to someone who seemingly had to turn heads as soon as they entered a room and Diego, in fact, did see a few heads turn. A part of him didn’t want to look, as crazy as it sounded. He didn’t even know why. But when he did eventually cock his head to where others were looking...he understood the hesitation completely. ****  
** **

  His heart didn’t know how to react upon seeing the sparkly pink boot the clunking steps belonged to nor the person those feet were attached to. He didn’t need to even see the face to know who it was: those ridiculous leather pants and fishnets sneaking up the stomach paired with the stringy pink crop top and jet black fur coat was a certain combination of clothing choices he’s never seen on anyone else before in his life. No wonder heads were turning at the sight of him. ****  
** **

  Klaus Hargreeves strut and strided around the grimy part time gym for hours, or what he perceived as hours in that peculiar mind of his, peeking over his pink tinted sunglasses to look for a certain somebody as well as to check out any of the countless burly men who came to the event. He made sure to give each one who interested him a tiny wave and smile, even if they never returned the favor. Though others were staring, Klaus didn't mind. In fact, he loved it! None of those stares were those filled with lust like Klaus was hoping for but he nonetheless enjoyed the attention. Though he had to admit, he was growing a bit impatient in this one sided game of hide-and-seek but he wasn’t going to give up so soon and in the end, he’s glad he didn’t. ****  
** **

  When the two locked eyes, it was too late for Diego to quickly look away to maybe prevent Klaus from recognizing him but he knew in his hearts that it would take a lot more to get away from his dear brother. ****  
** **

  Klaus squealed happily, as well as noisily, and with arms wide open, he rushed over to Diego. If Diego wasn’t as preoccupied with trying not to die from embarrassment, he’d be impressed by how his brother was able to stay standing in those absurd boots of his. Diego took a step back but this didn’t deter Klaus from wrapping a pair of fur covered arms around his torso and shoulders and squeezing tight. ****  
** **

  “Oh dearest brother of mine, for how long has it been since our last fateful encounter?” he sounded like he was on the brink of tears, but Diego knew better than that. ****  
** **

  Trying to ignore all the staring faces, Diego began to offer a serious answer to his question. “Last time I checked, a couple months and what a peaceful couple of months they’ve been.” ****  
** **

  Klaus pulled back, hands still firmly on his shoulders. “Listen I get the whole cool and distant act is a facade you put on is for other people. I get it. It’s like how I have to tone down my overwhelming sexiness and really ramp up that goofy charm so I’m not constantly causing orgasms wherever I go. It truly is a burden we both have to carry. And that’s why you really are my favorite brother. Our struggles are one in the same. So you see? There’s no need to put it up while around me...” that fake shaky voice returned. “Never be afraid to be your true self.” ****  
** **

  The embarrassment mostly washed away and an unamused look took over his face. He will admit the way he shrugged off Klaus’s hands was a bit harsh, but he only did it to get through to his head. “Klaus, what are you doing here?” ****  
** **

  His brother let out a dramatic sigh, lifting up and dropping his arms to better express how displeased he was by the question. “Not even gonna ask me how I’m doing! It’s always ‘Klaus, why are you here?’ ‘Klaus, how did you get into my house?’ ‘Klaus, this is the third time you’ve come to me covered in cocaine! How does this keep happening?’“ after reminiscing on this past memories of his using the dumbest voices he could muster, he for a moment forgot where he was going with this. “But never…’Klaus, how are you?’ It’s always the last question if it ever is even asked.” ****  
** **

  “Klaus,” Diego began firmly. He sighed and swallowed his pride. “How...are you?” ****  
** **

  “Terrible, darling!” he exclaimed, grabbing the attention of a few more people. “Horrible! Absolutely dreadful! Downright sickening!” he paused, flashing a wide, genuine smile. “I’ve never been better.” ****  
** **

  Diego surprised himself when he felt the tiniest sliver of a smile slip past his conscious and onto his lips. He quickly cleared his throat and the smile vanished. “Great. Now about why you’re h-“ ****  
** **

  “Uup uup uup!” Klaus quickly vocalized as he lifted up a finger, trying to stop him from moving onto his original question. He tilted his head and rested his chin in his hands, batting his eyelashes. “Diego...how have  _ you  _ been?” ****  
** **

  He scoffed. “Just peachy.” ****  
** **

_ So much for this not being a family reunion. _ ****  
** **

__ Klaus knitted his brows and pursed his lips at the rather tight lipped response. Diego somehow knew it was coming, even before Klaus put on the ridiculous older woman’s voice of his. “I just want to know what my precious Diego is up to more often. You never  _ call _ anymore. How to you expect us to stay in touch? And when are you gonna find yourself a nice girlfriend, huh?” He reached out and pinched his cheek, stretching it a bit. “This face ain’t getting any cuter, y’know! Unlike my own, which ages like a fine wine.” ****  
** **

  If it were anyone else, they wouldn’t have a hand at this point. Of course, it’s hard to slice off the hands of family, especially when you didn’t hate them. Instead, he merely groaned, rolled his eyes and not so callously swatted his hand away. “If I told you I’m working on it, will you drop it?” ****  
** **

  “Consider it...dropped.” Klaus replied, sounding more than satisfied. He finally took off those sunglasses of his and slipped it into an inner pocket of his jacket. “So...you had another question for me, I believe?” ****  
** **

  “Yeah, I did.” ****  
** **

  “And that would be?” ****  
** **

  “You know what it is, Klaus.” His patience was wearing thin with each passing word they shared. He began to walk over to the ring to put his gloves down, knowing that Klaus would follow him around like a puppy.

  And that he did. ****  
** **

  “C’mon man, you know my memory is beyond fuuuucked with a capital F and couldn’t tell you the difference between something that happened yesterday or three weeks ago.” ****  
** **

  “And that’s my problem because?” ****  
** **

  “Because you’re my bro! My main man? Mi hermano? Mein bruder? The guy who’d always give me half of his donuts because that’s just how generous he was?” ****  
** **

  Diego’s scoff came out more like a laugh. “I never shared them.  _ You _ always stole them.” ****  
** **

  “The point is that you should care because when I’m all old and dusty and can’t remember my own name, you’ll be regretting the way you treated me and what you never told me.” ****  
** **

  “Well lets just hope that day never comes because to be honest, can’t exactly picture you living past forty with the way you’ve been treating your body.” ****  
** **

  “Hey, my body is a temple and-“ ****  
** **

  “You decide what does or doesn’t go into it. I know.” ****  
** **

  “Good.” Klaus huffed. He looked around, pulling up his fishnets up past his belly button. “Anyways, since you just won’t drop it, I am here to support my little brother in this fight club thing you got goin’ on.” ****  
** **

  Diego looked past the “little brother” comment as it would be otherwise useless to argue over it. “How did you even hear about this?” ****  
** **

_ Did you suddenly gain mind reading powers and sense how much I dreaded the idea of seeing you or the others again, so you came all the way out here to further torture me? _ ****  
** **

  “Heard about it from a...friend.” Klaus’s definition of “friend” varied from meaning to meaning depending on the situation and Diego could never place what he means at first. “Heard it second hand if anything, talking about some ‘big fight with that Dildo Hargreeves guy’ and I just assumed he was talking about you and surprise! I was right! Never been happier to hear someone call you a dildo, that’s for sure.” ****  
** **

  “You don’t hang out with muscle heads or boxing fans.” Diego commented, sounding so sure of himself. It certainly wasn’t the crowd Klaus typically hung around with. Mostly other junkies, dealers and male strippers with candy and pastry inspired stage names. ****  
** **

  Their last encounter was certainly an eventful one. ****  
** **

  “You’re right. I  _ usually _ do not. But that’s the thing, Dildo Hargreeves-”  ****  
** **

  “I swear to god Klaus if you start making that a regular thing-” ****  
** **

  “The thing is that people change. I’m into that stuff now! I know I’ve teased you for it in the past, but it’s water under the bridge and call me Rocky cause I’m about this  _ close _ into getting into the ring myself I love it so goddamn much!” ****  
** **

  Diego shot him another unimpressed look, accompanied by a raised eyebrow. ****  
** **

  Klaus’s smile wavered a bit as he stuttered. “The friend was a one night stand and he invited someone else over the next morning and I heard about it before he kicked me out. Total meat head which is far from my type but he was totally packing.” he paused. “As in...huge muscles.” ****  
** **

_ Wait for it… _ ****  
** **

  “Plus he had the  _ huuuuuuugest _ dick like oh my god-” ****  
** **

  “Annnnnd there it is.” Diego sighed before rubbing his temple in frustration. “Did you come all the way here just to talk about that or-?” ****  
** **

  “I mean when you put it like that-” ****  
** **

  “I think you should go, Klaus.” The brother in question started to stutter and babble more in confusion. Diego placed a hand on his shoulder and started to walk him back towards the entrance, making sure Klaus didn’t stumble on his heels in the process. ****  
** **

  “Hey, Hargreeves!” ****  
** **

  The two of them whipped their heads around in unison at the mention of their shared name. ****  
** **

  There stood Diego’s opponent of the night, Chuck. He himself held a power presence as well, which caught the attention of almost the whole gym, which explained how eerily quiet it grew. His smug smile turned into a slight grimace when he saw who Diego was holding onto. It just as quickly disappeared as it showed up.  ****  
** **

  He chuckled. “What’s going on here? Some sort of romantic rendezvous gone wrong?” ****  
** **

  “Woah, that was an awfully big, fancy word he used.” Klaus said, fake concern dripping from his tone. He leaned over to whisper to Diego. “He already has you beat on the amount of words he knows. Safe to say you’re fuuuucked.” ****  
** **

  Diego forced a smile, ignoring his brother. “Hardly. Was just about to kick out this junkie,” He shoved Klaus away with the word “junkie” and held his arm behind his back. “For not paying to get in. So, I was merely enforcing the rules of this gym, nothing more nothing less.” ****  
** **

  Klaus sighed and started muttering to him again. “Eh not bad, but you’ve done better. Try throwing in some French, that’ll really throw him off his game.” ****  
** **

  “Shut the fuck up already, Klaus.” he hissed. ****  
** **

  “For being just some ‘junkie-’” The two of them looked up to see Chuck approaching them. “It’s funny that you know his name.” ****  
** **

  “Just a local junkie.” Diego scoffed. “Sadly, I have the displeasure of knowing this asshole’s name. He’s always coming in and I always have to kick him out.” ****  
** **

  “Boys, boys!” Klaus yells, rather dramatically. He struggles a bit before wiggling himself out of Diego’s grasp. “Boys...please, don’t fight over me! I’m right here. Surely, we can handle this like gent-” ****  
** **

  “Save it, dude. Or is it miss?” Chuck laughed. “Hard to tell with all that dick in your mouth.” ****  
** **

  “You would know, wouldn’t you?” Muttered Klaus, not trying very hard to be quiet with his comment.  ****  
** **

  That seemed to be the last straw. Growling in anger, Chuck grew closer before Diego stepped in front of him, essentially creating a barrier between his brother and the pissed boxer. ****  
** **

  “You don’t want to go down that road, Hargreeves.” Chuck said, getting red in the face. “Not right before a fight. I was willing to go easy on you, try to be friendly, but your buddy there isn’t really bringing the best in me.” ****  
** **

  “How about this?” Klaus clapped his hands together. “You two kiss and make up while I make like my meat and beat it. Sound good? Great!” ****  
** **

  Klaus felt Diego grab the scruff of his jacket and drag him back into the conversation, surprising since Diego was struggling to get him out as soon as possible. ****  
** **

  “You really gonna let this junkie get your panties in a bunch?” Diego questioned. “You said it yourself: This is a fight between you and me,  _ not _ you and him. So why don’t you just let me take care of him, m’kay?” That’s when Diego’s face twisted to that of mock realization. “Unless...now hold on. Unless this is a  _ personal  _ thing going on between you two. Was that little ‘romantic rendezvous’ comment from earlier a Freudian slip of sorts?” ****  
** **

  Klaus didn’t even try to hide the wide smile growing across his face and guessing by Chuck’s own angered expression growing stronger, Diego was right on the money with that comment of his. ****  
** **

  He really thought Chuck would lose his cool then and there. ****  
** **

_ Not quite there yet… _ ****  
** **

  Chuck muttered something under his breath and turned around, starting to walk towards the ring. “Won’t go easy on you now. I’ll fuckin pummel your ass in the ring.” ****  
** **

  Diego really should have been keeping a closer eye on Klaus, who made his snide remarks a bit louder, making it impossible to be ignored. “Like what you did with meeeeee?” ****  
** **

_ And that’ll do it. _ ****  
** **

  That was enough for him to whip back around and stomped right at them, steam practically rising from his head and ears, his fiery eyes fixated on Klaus. Along with stepping between them again, Diego held out his arm to better protect Klaus.

  “You don’t want to go down that road man.” Diego said in a serious tone. ****  
** **

  “Why the hell are you even defending that queer junkie asshole? Why don’t you let me deal with him instead, huh? I’ll gladly kick him out and rough him up so he won’t ever fuckin’ come back!” ****  
** **

  “Mmm…” Klaus hummed, leaning over Diego’s arm and batting his eyelashes. “You know I love it rough.” He ended the sickly sweet remark with a wink. ****  
** **

_ So this is when you decide to show off that big talk of yours, huh? When I’m the only thing standing between you and a punch strong enough to probably send you to an early grave. Seriously, fuck you Klaus. _ ****  
** **

  This proved to, of course, only make Chuck even more pissed than he was before and here Diego thought it was impossible. It was harder to decipher his words, which were now coming from his clenched teeth. “If that girly fuck doesn’t leave, the fight isn’t happening.” ****  
** **

  “Well, with the way things are going, I think it’s safe to say there’ll still be a fight.” ****  
** **

  Chuck didn’t take the hint as he leaned in. “This is a waste of time. Get him out or I’ll do it myself.” His voice was low, but still held the tone of someone close to snapping for a second time. ****  
** **

  “Sorry, but as long as I’m here, he isn’t leaving.” ****  
** **

  Diego could barely understand the words coming from his mouth. Not only was he determined on getting Klaus out as soon as possible before the whole situation, but during the day before, it sent chills down his spine imaging any one of his family members showing up. What changed?  ****  
** **

  Chuck began to reach out to Klaus and that’s when Diego had enough. ****  
** **

  He quickly couched down before rocketing his fist upwards, delivering a full power upcut right to Chuck’s jaw. It made a nasty noise upon impact and another equally sickening sound when a crack was heard. Everyone around them recoiled and grimaced, including Klaus. Chuck stumbled back a few steps, clearly taken aback at the sudden strike. He lurched his head back forward and Diego saw the devil staring back at him. ****  
** **

  “Happy you got your fight?” ****  
** **

  Chuck yelled before charging back at Diego. As he dodged, he made sure to grab the dumbstruck Klaus and push him away as to not stay in the middle of the action. Klaus stumbled a bit before leveling himself out and turning around to see that, yeah, this was happening. ****  
** **

  “Damn it.” Klaus sighed, dusting himself off and pulling himself up a plastic fold up chair. “I didn’t bring any popcorn.”  ****  
** **

  As soon as he sat down though, he realized all the people crowding around the two men to watch and cheer on whoever they thought best, blocking his view. Klaus sighed again and stood up, pushing through the people to get a better look. Just as he pushed past the last of the crowd, he could see Diego consistently ducking under Chuck’s rather slow punches, throwing in his own successful jabs to his side. Unfortunately, one punch went by uncalculated as Chuck caught it and harshly twisted his arm behind his back. Diego groaned in pain, trying to quickly wiggle from his grasp. ****  
** **

  “Hit him! Hit him!” ****  
** **

  Diego made the mistake of glancing away for a second to see Klaus cheering him on, hands cupped around his mouth. As soon as he looked away though, he felt a fist collide with his own jaw. The audience flinched and groaned themselves. When he looked back to see Chuck charging up another punch, he jerked forward, bashing his head against his opponent. More groans erupted from everyone in the room. Chuck let go of Diego and they back took steps back to shake off the intense headaches. Diego took the moment to spit out a large glob of blood forming on the inside of his mouth before rushing back at him. All the while, he could hear Klaus yelling more things, maybe not directed at Diego himself but he couldn’t be bothered to try to figure it out. He had more important things to attend to.  ****  
** **

  While Chuck was momentarily distracted, Diego rushed at him and was able to deliver a few good body blows before Chuck managed to give Diego another clock to the jaw. He didn’t let this bother him too much. He circled around him and he knew it was a dirty move and though he loved fighting, he wanted this over as quickly as possible. So, he threw a kidney punch and he threw it hard. A few watchers booed upon seeing this, but at this point, Diego didn’t care. Chuck coughed and sputtered a bit before collapsing to one knee. As he started to wind up his fist, a hash whistle cut through all the yelling. ****  
** **

  Everyone stopped what they were doing, including Diego, to look over and see Al, whistle leaving his mouth, which was twisted into a sneer. ****  
** **

  “What in the goddamn hell is going on?!” Al yelled as he hobbled through the crowd to get to Diego and Chuck. “I leave for five minutes and you two are already at each other’s throat before I even have a chance to say ‘fight’! What the hell were you thinking?!” ****  
** **

  “Excuuuuuse me~” ****  
** **

  Everyone turned to see this came from Klaus. He clasped his hands together, leaning forward as he took a step towards the middle. ****  
** **

  “If I may be so bold, Diego was merely defending my honor. I for one think he deserves an automatic win for that alone. If I’m not the only one who thinks that, speak now or forever hold your peace.” ****  
** **

  What followed was the most uncomfortable ten seconds of silence Diego ever had the displeasure of hearing. ****  
** **

  “And who let in this goddamn fairy?” Al finally yelled out. ****  
** **

  “That...goddamn fairy,” Diego choked out. “Is my brother.” ****  
** **

  As Al rolled his eyes, Klaus’s face held an expression Diego wasn’t used to seeing. His typical wild grin loosened up a bit to a much tamer one as his eyebrows creased upwards in sincerity. ****  
** **

 

  After that unexpected fight, the regularly scheduled one was canceled. All the paying attendees left with disappointed scowls on their faces and Chuck left surprisingly quietly, covered in his own blood. Diego sighed heavily as he came out from the locker room, face cleaned up and covered in any necessary bandages. Al had refused to talk to him anymore after the fact and he knew it would take a while for that to change. It was so early, yet Diego was beyond dead tired from the events that unfolded. Despite that, he decided to check the main gym again in his search for his gloves and to his surprise, Klaus was still there. He was seemingly stuffing dollar bills into his pants after ending a conversation with an attendee on his way out. ****  
** **

  “Klaus...what are you still doing here?” Asked Diego, suppressing a yawn. ****  
** **

  “Oh, uh!” He chuckled, clearly surprised. “Well, because I just knew you’d kick his ass, I may or may not have made a few bets and may or may not have won a shit ton of money back in the process.” ****  
** **

  Diego laughed himself, sounding much more cold than his brother did. “Is that why you came in the first place? Just to make some easy cash. Un-fuckin-believable.” ****  
** **

  Klaus’s mouth open and closed like a fish out of water for a few moments as he tried to find his words. “N-No! I mean, the cash is certainly a bonus but-” ****  
** **

  Diego didn’t wanna hear it. He turned away with the intention of going to his room in the back to sleep. But then Klaus grabbed his arm to stop him. Diego sighed and turned around, ready to give him one last chance to explain himself. ****  
** **

  “I know this’ll probably sound rich coming from me, but...I care about you, man, and I care about what you do.” ****  
** **

  Diego straightened his back out to show he was listening. Klaus continued. ****  
** **

  “I meant it when I said that we don’t talk a lot and yeah, I’m to blame for a lot of that. I don’t exactly make for easy conversation and was hoping that...seeing you at a match would uh, I dunno, help us? I doubted anyone else would come so I thought hey, why not me? You act like you do but, I know you don’t hate me as much as the others.” He gestured to the blood still left beyond from the fight splattered across the floor. “You  _ did _ help me out back there after all.” ****  
** **

  Diego allowed himself a small smile, “Only cause a twiggy ass bitch like you wouldn’t last a second against him.” ****  
** **

  “I mean, I was able to hold my own against him in a different context but I know you don’t wanna hear it.” ****  
** **

  “Thank Chr-” ****  
** **

  “Unless you wanna hear it cause-” ****  
** **

  “Klaus, you’re really pushing your luck right about now.” ****  
** **

  His brother did get one thing right though: he didn’t hate him.  ****  
** **

  Far from it.  ****  
** **

  He loved him.


End file.
